Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Uri Hurwitz <uhurwitz AT yahoo.com>]

  Only modesty prevents me from repeating my former
 correct statement on this issue.

   Except for the debated two verses, especially '(elyon,
 in v 8, Yahweh appears repeatedly as the only god in
 this poem. While interpretations may differ, facts are
 facts.

   That the verses in question were considered difficult
already in antiquity is evident by the different versions. 

  Emendations are always speculative.

  Another point to keep in mind is that poetry, and
 language in general is not mathematics. Thus while
 parallelism in biblical poetry is an important tool
 for understaning, one must keep in mind that
 the ancient poets often used words metaphorically.

   Did  biblical authors who often used the phrase
 "Yahweh's nose became hot" - h(.)arah appo - expect
 their words to be taken literally?


  Uri Hurwitz                  Great Neck, NY